O'Neill keen to keep Barry

23 April 2008 04:59

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill insists he will do everything in his power to keep Gareth Barry at the club.
The England international has been linked with a transfer in the summer, with
Liverpool and Chelsea both believed to be interested in securing his services.
O'Neill knows Barry is in demand, saying: "He got into the England squad, then he got into the England team and he's there on merit and he's in a really fine position.
"What you don't want to do is take anything for granted regarding what people are saying or thinking. All I'd do as manager of the club is sit down with the chairman and we're going to try to do our best to keep the players.
"Gareth comes into that category - he's our captain and one of our top players.
"I try not to be driven by outside forces. If there's something here that needs fixing in terms of players' contracts, I'll try to do it regardless.
"The players know me by now and I think they now know if they're doing brilliantly they don't need to even walk into my office - I can foresee these things.
"I don't always change things. If that were the case I'd be changing things from September to December.
"I'll be looking at all these things - the players who've done so well. It wouldn't matter if they signed last year, I'll look at it again."